The present invention relates to a motorcycling boot, in particular a motocross boot.
It is known that the lower limbs of motorcyclists are prone to injury, which may also be of a serious nature, in the event of accidental falls or impacts.
In order to reduce this risk as far as possible, during recent years special boots which have increased considerably the level of safety for users have been developed.
The safety offered by conventional leather boots has been greatly increased by introducing suitable protection means made of rigid or semi-rigid plastic.
Said protection means, which are mounted in the zones of the leg most exposed to injury, such as the instep, toes, shin, calf, may be directly injected onto the upper which forms part of the boot or may be applied by means of suitable gluing.
With use of these protection means not only is the motorcyclist's leg adequately protected against possible impacts or friction on the ground, but also unnatural movements of the lower limb as a result of the forces produced by an impact or accident are prevented.
In these boots which incorporate rigid and/or semi-rigid protection means it is known to provide soft portions in the region of the ankle joint so as to allow flexing of the foot.
In this way the foot is allowed a certain freedom of movement, while keeping it protected and supported, together with the ankle.
The abovementioned boots, although widely appreciated, are not without drawbacks.
In particular, the protection means arranged at the shin and calf, while they provide adequate protection, on the other hand make the boot rigid, limiting its comfort.
In fact, it has been possible to establish that, despite the soft portion provided in the ankle region, the rigid protection means on the shin and on the calf, since they are able to flex only by a small amount, also limit the backwards and forwards flexing movement of the boot leg-piece.
The top portion of the boot, in fact, may be regarded on the whole as being a single rigid body.
During these backwards or forwards flexing movements the leg-piece of the boot no longer fits the shape of the leg and it is possible that, in particular at the bottom ends, said protection means may exert a considerable pressure on the user's leg, causing discomfort, which is only partly relieved by the presence of suitable padding.
By way of a further consequence, whenever the leg-piece of the boot flexes forwards or backwards numerous folds form on the boot upper, at the instep or heel, and these may also be the cause of discomfort for the user.
Finally, said protection means do not allow the boot leg-piece to fit perfectly to calves and legs of different sizes.
Said drawback is partly offset by the provision of suitable closing devices which allow the upper and the associated protection means to adhere to the leg in a satisfactory manner.
It is evident, however, that in particular in the case of calves which are bigger than normal, the inability of the boot to fit to the rear profile of the leg creates a certain amount of discomfort.